I like to think of myself as the Hugh Hefner of stay-at-home moms - in the sense of wearing pajamas at home all the time, not of scantily-clad ladies scampering around. Well, except when my daughter decides to run around in just her underwear sometimes but that’s a whole different topic. I enjoy being in my PJs so much I have several of them in different styles but no silk. There’s just something so comfortable to me about being in your PJs instead of “real” clothes when you’re home all day. Now, I don’t lounge around all day in my cotton or flannel and gorge on snacks while watching TV. I do shower, and play with my daughter, and work on my computer and do housework – I just tend to prefer doing it all in the comfort of my jammies (a trend that has increased slightly during my second pregnancy).

And I do manage to get dressed when we have friends over, my daughter’s playmates visit or we go out for errands or fun.

My best friend who is a mom just doesn’t understand. For her, she feels the need to do her hair, sometimes even make-up and put on everyday clothes even if she spends the day at home. Many of my mom friends  She always enjoyed getting ready for work and her attire is more casual these days but I think she is trying to maintain some of that old routine to hold onto a little bit of her old self. I get that, but come on! Flannel and cotton pajamas are so soft and comfortable. 

Many of my mom friends seem to feel better wearing "real clothes," which sometimes makes me feel a little left out. But then I think when I return to work some day there will be plenty of days to wear “big girl” clothes. So I’m going to enjoy being all soft and snuggly while at home as long as I can. It’s just too bad, I don’t have a large PJ collection like Hef – or his mansion.

Originally Published by Sandra K. Lee on the New Jersey Mom's Blog.

The recent death of a Sea World trainer by a killer whale has re-ignited the debate over whether wild animals like this should be in captivity. As a parent and animal lover, I continuously struggle with reconciling the enjoyment and educational value of seeing live, wild animals that we would not otherwise see (not everyone can afford to go whale watching or go on safari) with the fact that visiting zoos and the like support keeping these animals in captivity.As a child, I fondly recall visiting the circus and one of my greatest experiences was touching a shark at Sea World. As an adult and parent; however, I won't take my daughter to a circus because of the reported cruelty in circus performances and I think she can have as much fun at a human-only show.

When it comes to zoos, I'm more ambivalent about the pros and cons of visiting them. Last summer, we took her to Turtle Back Zoo because as a member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums they must provide animals with enrichment programs as well as a high level of care. However, I still felt a little guilty because even though they were well cared for, they were not in their native habitats.

Despite my guilt, I still feel there is something to be learned from seeing live animals so lately I've considered visiting places such as the Raptor Trust that offer visitors the change to see wild animals. However, organizations like this also are dedicated to conservation, education and rehabilitating injured, wild animals and, most important to me, places like this include releasing recuperated animals back into their habitat as part of their mission. And maybe these kinds of facilities will offer even more educational opportunity for my daughter as well as for myself.

Originally Published By Sandra K. Lee on March 10, 2010 on the New Jersey Mom's Blog.